Nairobi Window

Copper foil, 36"x20"

The panel was commissioned by my fellow artist Naz Perver Weich. She was moving back to Nairobi, Kenya, after 3 years in Montreal and wanted it for the interior window in her home. 

As an inspiration, I used fragments of one of her abstract paintings. She loved the idea of having stained glass in her home inspired by her own art! 

I drew my own lines and changed the colors to more vivid and vibrant than those in the painting. At the same time, the palette is very similar, I tried to recreate all the beautiful nuances. Choosing glass was the most difficult and time-consuming step in this project. I used mostly the streaky glass since I wanted to imitate the brush strokes and soft transitions of color. Several times I had to change the already cut pieces simply because they didn't look convincing.

After cutting the 3 colored panels I had several ideas how to put them all together. The dimensions of the window were quite particular and didn't give much scope for the design. Finally, I decided to make a frame of simple off-white "bricks". They made a nice contrast for the colorful parts and altogether it reminded me of a window overlooking the tropical jungle. I didn't have to think much about the name, it came by itself! 

Naz has brought the panel to Nairobi and installed it in her house. Unfortunately, I only had a couple of hours to enjoy my completely finished project before she came to pack it! Maybe, some day I will go visit her and see it again.

• copper foil